We Named The Dog Indiana
by Franta
Summary: Goren's got a secret that goes with all of his smarts... suddenly he's pulled away from work for a reason Eames can't understand, until she's pulled into the whirlwind adventure herself...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have i ever, nor will i ever own any of the characters, themes, or ideas associated with Law & Order: Criminal Intent. I just borrow them. I also do not own Indiana Jones (see the title- it's a quote from the movie). AndI own nothing associated with the Smithsonian Institution,I don't know the director's name, Gary is just a figment of my imagination. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Robert Goren sat at his desk quietly sipping coffee and reading over a case file. He was reading anything and everything he could to get inside the criminal's head, but he was kind of relaxed about it. He was enjoying it almost as if it were a show. This guy was interesting and getting in his head would definitely help with the interrogation (it always did), but Goren was very much past being melodramatic about the importance of it...

His partner was sitting across from him, her blonde hair in her eyes like it always was. For as much of her vision as it obscured, it somehow had no affect on her ability to keep tabs on her partner's ever-curious behavior.

Suddenly, his desk phone rang, wiping the slight smirk off of his face as it surprised him from his concentration (no matter how relaxed it was). He quickly grabbed the phone and held it to his ear. "Goren."

"Robert, it's Gary."

He sat up in his chair as a knowing smile spread across his face. "Hey Gaz, what's up? Oh wait- let me guess-"

"Robert, the Margo Sapphire has been stolen."

Bobbywas very excited now. He had a boyish grin until... he looked up and saw his partner, sitting across from him. Shit, he hadn't thought about that... and the call must mean... His face sunk almost immediately. "Valdez?"

"Probably. He had been seen at the museum recently. We were keeping tabs on him and had boosted security, but he managed to get it anyway."

"Figures. He gets harder to catch ever single time."

"Yes, and it's been over 5 years since you last went chasing after him, too."

"Don't remind me," he said, giving another look towards his partner, who had now sat up in her chair and was attempting to glean information out of his words.

"When can you get off?"

"Whoa- hold it!" he replied, bolting upright in his chair and holding out his hand in a 'stop' motion. "I can't just take off- Gaz, let me call you back."

"When?"

"Just a minute. I can't discuss this in the squad room."

"Alright, Bobby. Call me back- and make it quick."

"Yah, all right," he said agitatedly as he hung up the phone. "Shit!" he exclaimed.

"Bobby, what's up?" Alex asked, leaning across the desks in her chair.

"Uh, nothing. Just something I need to sort out," he said, making to get out of his chair.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He quickly left the squad room and holed himself up in an interrogation room. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed a number, and put it on speakerphone on the table so he could walk, talk, and listen all at the same time without having to hold his phone up.

"This is Gary."

"Gaz, you bloody bastard! Calling me at work!"

"Sorry Robert, it was the only contact info we could find."

"That's a damn lie and you know it," he retorted, thinking about the kind of access to information the Director of the Smithsonian had.

"Ok, so it is, but Robert- We really need you to take this one."

"I can't just pick up and leave- I actually HAVE a partner now," he shouted at the cell phone sitting on the table. "And Deakins doesn't know about this!"

"Yes he does- or, he will as soon as he checks his messages."

"You-" he steamed. "You knew what you were doing! You KNEW I had a partner! And you KNEW that I would want to do this anyway! This is no way to treat me if you want me to do this type of thing! You can't mess with me like that!"

Bobby was still pacing around the table in the interrogation room. In his hurry and fury he had failed to remember that those rooms held1 way mirrors and mics that streamed to the observation room. He partner was silently watching him prom behind the glass- as was his captain.

"Robert, and YOU know why we had to call you. Valdez is a sneaky bastard and you're the only one who has been able to catch him in the past."

Bobby steamed around the room, rubbing his forehead. "Deakins knows, then?"

"Yes."

"Will he believe it?"

"We told him to talk to Marty."

Behind the glass Deakins said "Marty? The Chief of D's?"

"What about Eames?"

"That's your captain's concern. Tell him to put you on medical leave or something- they'll find him a temporary partner. You won't be gone long- as I recall it only took you 2 weeks last time."

"It's a her- Alex_andra_."

"Oh, so it is... So, you're on then." It wasn't a question.

"Damn it Gaz."

"We'll see you tomorrow morning for the briefing. The airline tickets are already in your mailbox at your apartment."

Bobby let out a long sigh. "Ok, bye." He reached over and picked up the cell phone and flipped it shut. As he bent back up he saw it: the mirror.

A surge of horror went through him. He raced out of the room and into the observation room, but it was empty. He was relieved, but only temporarily. It was only a matter of time before that little red blinking light on Deakins phone told him to check his messages, and it was only a matter of minutes after that that he would have to explain to his partner, who he cared very much about (though he wasn't quite aware of it), why he had to leave unexpectedly and for an indefinite amount of time...

And yet, in the pit of his stomach a sense of excitement filled him...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bobby walked calmly back to his desk. Alex was sitting across from him. "What was that phone call about?"

He breathed in deeply, and before he could exhale, he heard Deakins shout "Goren!" across the squad room.

"I'll tell you in a minute," he said as he got up. Eames made to get up to follow him but he held out a hand and said, "I'm pretty sure this one is for me only."

He walked into Deakins office, leaving a confused Alex Eames standing by their desks.

He closed the door behind him.

"Close the blinds," Deakins spat.

He did as he was told. "Sir, I-"

"Stop, Goren, just stop. Let me get this straight. Youwork for the Smithsonian. One of their big-ass jewels got stolen, and they want to pull you away from work so you can go chasing after it leaving a full caseload inyour tracks!"

He just stood there.

"Why can't they kick it to the PD!"

"I believe it's a publicity issue. It's all very hush-hush."

"Hush-hush?" Deakins said incredulously.

"Sir, I can't explain it to you- I don't think even I know the full scope of it. They just arranged it with the Chief of Ds some time ago and they pull me out whenever they need me. It hasn't been a problem in the past because I didn't really have a steady partner before- that's why they kept me solo in Narcotics."

"I know your service record, don't spout that off... What the hell am I supposed to do about Eames!"

"I... I don't know. Gary said you'd take care of that."

Deakins raised his eyebrows in annoyance. "Don't _you_ care about that!"

"Sir, please- don't yell at me... This is how it's been for ages. I can't explain it to you. Marty said it was ok-"

"You will address your superior's by rank, Goren, do you hear me?"

"Sorry, sir." Goren bowed his head.

Deakins agitatedly picked up the phone and dialed the Chief of D's. "Marty, is there anything else you haven't told me?"

Over the speaker a voice said, "Yes- Detective Jones will be there in the morning."

"Sir, I must protest," Deakins began.

"You don't have a choice, Jimmy. This is what Detective Goren does. Detective Eames is free to take the time off as well, but she cannot know where Detective Goren is going or what he is doing. This goes all the way to the top, Jimmy, do youunderstand me? As of now he is on leave to serve his country."

Deakins sighed. "Thanks Marty," he said, turning off the phone. He then looked up at Bobby. "Go tell Eames."

Bobby silently left Deakins' office and went back to where Alex was sitting.

"Eames, I have to go away for a while. I don't know how long I'll be gone-"

She cut him off with a barrage of questions. "Does this have something to do with that call from Gary? Who's Valdez? And you've done this before?"

"How-"

"I saw you in the interrogation room," she said, calming down.

"OK," he said, thinking. "I can't tell you where I'm going, or what I'm doing. Just... read The Smithsonian."

A muscle in her eye twitched. "What! You're about to leave and all you can tell me is read a damn magazine!"

"Damnit Eames!" he said, slamming the table. He quickly brought his voice back down, realizing that everyone was watching and listening. "Just read the magazines..." He was leaning in very close to her. She could feel him breathing he was so close. "Your temp will be here tomorrow. I have to leave tonight. Here is a key to my apartment. Tomorrow morning, go there and get all of my old Smithsonians. I can't tell you what to look for..." his voice was almost pleading now. "You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out... I have to go..." and without thinking he reached up and stroked her jaw with his hand, got out of his chair, grabbed his coat, and headed towards the elevator.

Alex sat in her confused silence, watching Goren get into the elevator.

"Eames!" She heard shouted from across the room.

She quickly got up and crossed the room to Deakins' office. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

"What did he tell you?" Deakins asked.

"He told me that he had to go away for a while, told me my temp would be here tomorrow... and told me to read The Smithsonian magazine," she added in an annoyed tone.

Deakins sighed and shook his head. "I am going insane?" he finally shouted.

He calmed down and looked up at Eames. "Chief of Ds gave permission for you to take time off as long as Goren's gone. Since he told you to read the magazine there's probably something in there he wants you to know related to what he's doing, which you're not supposed to know..." He paused to think before saying, "As of now you are on paid leave until Goren gets back. He wants you to know, so chances are he wants you involved..." He turned back to his desk, dismissing her with the action.

"Captain," she said tentatively.

"Yah?" he answered in a tired tone.

"He…" she stuttered, raising her hand to her jaw where Goren had touched it. She shook her head. "Never mind…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bobby ran up the stairs to the front door of his apartment building. It was extremely cold and the wind was nipping at his uncovered ears.

Cursing, he took out his keys and opened his mailbox where he found an airline ticket to Washington, DC.

He grabbed the ticket, along with the rest of his mail, and headed up the stairs. He got to his door when he realized that he had given Alex his key.

"Off to a great start," he said aloud before turning to his neighbor's door.

He knocked, and after a few seconds a young mother answered to door. "Marta, I lost my key, do you have my spare?" he asked.

After he had gotten his spare key, he went inside his apartment.

He first ate a large salad with a half of grapefruit, and then went into his bedroom to pack.

But, it wasn't the usual packing. He climbed into the back of his closet and pulled out a loose panel in the wall that led to the coat closet that he had built a wall over in the hallway. The coat closet now connected to the back of his closet. He hadn't been back there in a long time.

He put the panel on the floor beside him, reached up inside, and pulled on a latch that released the back wall on a hinge so he wouldn't have to crawl in the hole in the wall.

The Smithsonian had insisted he hide his stuff, so he had insisted that they figure out a way for him to do it. His landlord must never know...

He opened up the wall and disappeared behind his hanging suits. He pulled on the light cord above him to turn on a lonely bulb.

It was dusty. He had piles upon piles of research and information on the various 'jobs' he had done in the past. He searched through them for his Valdez files and the file he received when the museum had received the Margo Sapphire.

He then fumbled through an old dresser and pulled out his favorite pair of jeans, which he reserved for his 'jobs', "I've missed you so much," he said to the pants before hugging them and then lunging them out of the closet behind him.

He pulled out several more pairs of pants and jeans, a bunch of t-shirts (short and long sleeved), a heavy-duty winter coat (some places of the world were actually more cold than NYC), a pair of army boots, and his bathing suit. All of this he threw out of the closet behind him.

He then pulled a small duffle bag off of a shelf and opened it. It contained several emergency kits of various natures, and some general lightweight supplies. It also contained a gun identical to his PD issue piece, but had no serial numbers on it. He delicately unloaded his PD piece and set it on the high shelf before removing the other gun from the bag and placing it in his holster- he would clean it later.

As he did all of this he thought carefully about what was in the magazines and pieced together everything that Alex might once (or _if_) she started reading them. He decided that it was probably all of the information she needed and then some.

Then he thought about Alex herself. Would she be so flustered that she wouldn't be able to get anything out of the magazines? Or would she shut down completely, not read them, and then never speak to him again to top it all off. He _had_ just taken off and only told her to 'read my magazines".

But then again, it actually wasn't his fault. It was Gaz and that joke of a security system they had in place at the museum. If they rally didn't want it stolen they'd get a better system. They were doing this just to annoy him, he was sure of it.

And what would Valdez want with the Margo Sapphire? He really didn't know. He would have to read up.

Bobby emerged from his secret closet, latched the door closed, replaced the panel, and turned to the flurry of stuff he had haphazardly thrown from his closet.

He grimaced at the large amount of stuff. "Why am I even packing?" he asked aloud. "I always loose my bag, they always steal my supplies..." He looked at his favorite pair of jeans that lie crumpled on the floor. "I'm not sure how I even managed to hold on to you after all of these years... orEames for that matter...I never thought I'd be pissed off to see you again."

The jeans didn't respond.

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Bobby woke up the next morning, threw on his favorite pair of jeans (which were a little snugger than he remembered) and a deep blue t-shirt that showed off his slightly toned arms, though did nothing for his slightly pudgy belly. He put his holster on, clipped 2 badges to his belt, grabbed his bags, the plane ticket, and headed out the door.

He stopped by Marta's on his way out to tell her that he would be out of town for a few weeks just like last time, gave her his spare key back, and asked her to check on his apartment once in a while.

She smiled knowingly while cradling the infant on her hips as he disappeared down the stairs to the street.

When he got to the airport he checked in, and then showed his second badge to the security people who waved him through without inspection.

He was the first one to board the plane. Once on board he pulled out the Margo and Valdez files along with the latest issue of Smithsonian magazine (he had left Eames a copy as well).

Bobby had a lot of reading to do...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bobby got off the small airplane in Washington, DC and headed towards the main terminal, bags in tow. When he reached the inside of the gate he saw Gary.

"Gaz, you son of a bitch. I'll never forgive you for this," he said, shaking his hand and giving him a hug. Gary was a tall man, in fact, a whole inch taller than Bobby. He had dirty blonde hair to match his dirty blonde stubble. He was kind of a taller blonder version of John Cleese.

"Sure you will, Robert, especially once you've completed another successful mission. I can't tell you how much the pride glows in your eyes-"

"Cut the crap, what have you got for me?" Bobby said, surveying his surroundings. He saw a man talking on a telephone in a phone booth. Gary also saw the man.

"Not here," he said. "And I'm sure you will agree."

Bobby nodded and they headed out towards the car. They both climbed into the back of the smallish limo and stretched out their legs.

"Valdez doesn't seem to have left a calling card on this one," he said.

"Really?" asked Bobby in surprise.

"Maybe he really is 'just in it for the money' this time."

"Highly unlikely," he said, looking out the window and taking in a drastically different DC than the last time he was here. "Last time Valdez stole something of that value he tried to reincarnate the dead... either he's lost his mind, or I managed to stop him just in time," he said with a grin.

"Don't get so full of yourself, Detective. Our spies think he's somewhere in Africa right now, with the exception of Morris, who you saw talking in the telephone booth."

"He's put on weight," Bobby said simply.

"So have you," Gary responded darkly before smiling. "So, you been reading the magazine lately?"

"Yep. Saw where there was a break in about a year ago, the community events, the study of the history of the hope diamond, and all of that stuff you so 'cleverly disguised' as information. Why can't you just send me the reports- I'm still being charged for the magazine subscription, you know."

"It's much more fun this way," Gary replied. "Ah, here was are."

Bobby stepped out of the car after Gary and they walked into the large brown stone building.

They entered his office. "So, what do you know so far?" Bobby asked.

"Well, none of our people have come up with any information that might lead us to believe he's trying to sell it. We really don't know why he stole it."

"Thrill of the hunt?"

"Anything's possible."

"Could it be a trap?"

"A trap? For who? You? Don't flatter yourself."

"He knows me, though. And he knows you- he could have done this just to get either of us..."

"I don't know, Detective," Gary said with a sigh, sitting down at his desk. "All I know is that the Margo Sapphire has been stolen, you're our expert recovery man, the ladies love you-" At this Bobby snorted. "-and we want our rock back!" he finished fervently.

"Calm down, Gaz. Where in Africa?"

"Egypt, where else?"

"Great, when do I leave?"

"Tomorrow- thought I'd give you time to enjoy the museum- also give our spies some time to give you more information to go on once you got there."

"Good- I'm going to the Modern Art museum, then..." Bobby headed for the door.

"Ah, not without protection," Gary added.

"Then have me watched, not babysat. I don't want Sylvia with me. She's obnoxious."

"She gets the job done."

"A little too well. I'm fine, Gary... trust me- isn't that what you have to do anyway? I'm ok to go tromping off to Egypt, but I can't look at some paintings alone?"

Gary sighed. "Fine, don't miss your plane tomorrow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex took the single key from her pocket, inserted it in the apartment door, and opened it.

Robert Goren's apartment was a mess. He had left dirty dishes in the sink, laundry looked like it had literally been hurled across the room, and the TV was still on. The only that was not in disarray was the enormous pile of Smithsonian Magazines, which had been stacked neatly in chronological order on the kitchen counter.

She saw the pile and immediately b-lined to avoid it. She wandered around Bobby's apartment, disgusted with the mess before her. She began to pick up pieces of clothing and put them into a pile. She put the dishes in the dishwasher, and then headed back down the hallway to find the bathroom. In the middle of the hallway she saw an arbitrary light switch. She flipped it, but no lights turned on or off.

"Hmm," she mumbled, "Must be for an outlet."

She went to the bathroom (which was also a mess) then back into the kitchen where she gave the pile of magazines a good hard look before picking up the top most one and flipping it open.

"_Carbon Dating- When the Good Grow Old_," she read aloud. "Oh god, Bobby. You are such a nerd." She flipped the magazine closed again, making a promise to herself: _I will read one full magazine a day, and if in a week I have no idea what's going on... I... I don't know what I'll do..._

"Damnit, Bobby. What am I supposed to do for the next who knows how long!" She looked around his apartment again. After a long silence she picked up a pile of magazines and headed out the door...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_"When you arrive in Cairo look for this gentleman," Gary had told him, holding up a photo. "His name is Jonathan Johnson; he will update you on the latest developments and give you all of the information we have up until that point. Talk to no one else, and update me regularly." _

Bobby stepped off of the plane, looked around, and immediately saw the gentleman Gary had told him to look for.

"Mr. Johnson," he said, holding out a hand.

"Please, call me Johnny. We have found Valdez's hiding spot here in the city and we think he has the Sapphire with him. I will take you there if you like, but I cannot stay with you. This is Julia, she has been helping me; she will go with you."

Bobby gave a boyish grin at the medium height (and build) woman before him. She had rich chocolate hair and deep green eyes. Her bone structure wasn't extraordinary, but she was still extremely pretty inher plain yellow dress. "Nice to meet you," he said. Julia just smiled.

"Well," said Johnny, interrupting the silence. I'll have you two off then.

Bobby looked back to him for a moment. "Gary said it was just supposed to be you. Where did she come from?"

"Johnny found me through the local police. I'm a detective, and I understand you are as well," she said in a beautiful accent.

He smiled again. "Yes, I am, Major Case," he said, totally forgetting the rules. "You remind me a lot of my partner."

"Oh, really? All brains and no beauty?" she joked.

"Hardly," Bobby managed to breathe. "I mean, I'm sure you're smart as well... shit." He slapped his forehead.

"It's alright, Detective," she laughed, throwing back her deep brown hair.

"Call me Robert."

Johnny coughed. "Shall we?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The small car pulled up outside of a small brownstone building. "That's from the Expedition article in May's magazine," Bobby said.

"Correct," Johnny said. "We have been watching it for sometime. Only yesterday did we see Marjorie go into it, we were afraid it was a decoy."

"Who's Marjorie?" Julia asked.

"Marjorie Toulenc; she's Valdez's mistress- and a very smart one at that," Bobby said, returning his focus to the building. "She orchestrated the last job he did. Managed to run me in circles before I figured her out. She's very good."

"Figured her out?"

"Her pathology," he said as if it Julia were someone he had been working with for the past 5 years. But Julia wasn't the person he had been working with for the past 5 years, and she looked confused.

"Well, my dear friends, this is where I must leave you. I will drive us a few blocks away, first." He drove the car down the street to the local cafe, where he exited and disappeared into the crowd.

"So, Robert. What now?"

"I'm not sure. I think we should wait until we see Marjorie leave, then sneak in and see if the Sapphire is there. If all goes smoothly, we should be able to grab it and run."

"You're not going to attempt to catch Valdez?" Julia asked, adjusting the calf-length skirt portion of her plain dress.

"Not yet. If we make off with the Sapphire, he'll definitely come after us, and then we can have him chase us all the way back to the arms of the authorities, who we would contact through you, I'm assuming."

"Well, I could call my captain I suppose, but... don't you think it's a little risky?" she asked, peering through the car window down the street at the brownstone.

"I love risky," he said, giving her a hungry look.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gary sat down at his desk and clicked an application open on his computer. Suddenly, a cell phone rang, but it wasn't his. It was Goren's. He had exchanged it for a prepaid that couldn't be traced.

Gary looked at the display screen and saw that it read, "AEames." Knowing that it was Goren's partner he let it ring out to voice mail. She could not have any idea what was going on. It would be a liability.

The ringing stopped, and about a minute later it beeped, indicating that there was a new message waiting. Gary turned the cell phone off and put it in his desk drawer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex flipped her phone shut in annoyance. It had taken her less time than expected to read through her pile of Smithsonians, and while she was annoyed at Bobby for running off like that and forcing her to have some alone time with the magazines, a small part of her actually enjoyed reading the magazines, though you would never hear her admit it. As far as she was concerned, her partner was and would always be a nerd- even if she kinda liked it.

She looked at the chart she had drawn, showing every instance of reference to the Margo Sapphire, anyone named Valdez, and anyone named Gary.

She concluded that of all the Gary's mentioned, Bobby's must be the director of the museum, who was listed in the front. She still wasn't sure who Valdez was, but he was always mentioned in articles that were about foreign expeditions, artifacts, and precious stones.

The article about the Margo Sapphire was pretty straightforward: where it was mined, it's history of previous owners, how it came to be at the museum, and things like that. There was nothing that flagged it as a potential item of interest apart from its amazing beauty and it's amazing price tag.

Feeling rather impressed with herself, and annoyed with Bobby, she flipped open her phone again and dialed his number. "Come on, Bobby, pick up the phone," she mumbled…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bobby and Julia quietly meandered down the block, keeping a watchful eye on the building. Bobby didn't want to be seen in case Marjorie was still there, so he was forced to constantly duck out into an alley whenever there was movement outside of the house.

Julia proved exceptionally keen at surveillance, and when she said "I am very good at surveillance," it reminded him of when he was on the watch at the tunnels and Alex said "Surveillance is my strong suit."

But Bobby never said these thoughts aloud. He decided it would be best to push his life in New York out of his mind for the time being so he could focus on the task at hand. He would be back soon enough and didn't need to loose focus by dwelling.

"So, you mentioned Marjorie's pathology? What do you mean by that?" Julia asked after she slipped her arm into Bobby's.

He looked down at their locked arms and smiled. "Oh, her pathology. Well, Marjorie has a chip on her shoulder from her previous involvement with other crime organizations. They never treated her well- she has several scars on her back from where she had been knocked around- and so when she joined Valdez she not only found a place to fit in, but used her influence as an opportunity to avenge her wrongs. And she hated me for getting in the way."

Julia nodded. "How did you get in the way? I mean- I know you've worked for Gary before, but what did you do that pissed her off so much that she 'ran circles around you'?"

"She convinced Valdez to do a job for her to grab some tomb artifacts that were being excavated just outside the city. Gary sent me as soon as the pieces had gone missing and within a day or two I had them back and had managed to kill about half a dozen of Valdez's closest consults. He was so pissed that he had suffered so much loss for something she wanted him to do that he basically began to treat her with the same disdain that her previous 'men' had... She wasn't happy about that, so she came after me. She saw me as the root of her problem."

"But you kinda were, weren't you?"

"Not entirely. Marjorie has the wits to manipulate Valdez, but she can get a little nagging. She's what you call a high maintenance girl- guys just don't like that, especially when they have a top notch crime organization to run."

"What about you, Robert? What do guys who _disassemble_ crime organizations like in a girl?"

He smirked. "I'm not sure- I haven't done much market research... I'll have to get on that some time..."

They were momentarily caught up in their flirting until Bobby spotted someone leaving the building. He and Julia quickly ducked behind a car and watched as Marjorie Toulenc chic-ly walked out of the front door and down the stoop to the street, yaking away on her cell phone.

"Tell that bitch that I do not want to wait- I want the stone cut within the week. I will bring it by tonight. Simon gets back tomorrow morning," she added with a giddy tone through her thick French accent.

Julia turned to Bobby and whispered, "Simon?"

"Valdez," he answered with just as much hush.

Marjorie flipped her cell phone shut and got into a Saab that was parked on the side of the street and sped off down the road.

Bobby and Julia stood up from their crouch behind the car. "Well, it's definitely here, and we have to make our move tonight," he said, straightening his clothes and looking around to make sure the coast was clear.

Julia nodded in agreement and wiped some dust off of the hem of her plain yellow dress.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex sat on her couch popping cheese and crackers and drinking red wine as she watched the horrible conclusion to an absolutely horrible chick-flick.

"But I love you," she said in a mock voice as the bad actor (who wasn't even that cute) attempted to win back the girl he had wronged. She popped another piece of cheese.

All over her apartment were Smithsonian Magazines. She had them open to various pages as she attempted to glean information from them that might tell her something about where her partner was and what he had to do so urgently that he left without so much as a goodbye… ok, he had said good bye in an almost touching manner, but it was so fast and sudden that Alex hadn't even had time to comprehend it, let alone appreciate it. The sad part was that if she had had time to digest it, she would have found it far more romantic than the crappy chick-flick she was watching.

The chart she was making had now spread to a 3ft x 5ft poster board. If she wasn't going to work, then she was going to do the only sleuthing she could- even if she didn't know why she was doing it. Only a day and a half had passed since his abrupt departure, and already she was bored from not working.

She got up, grabbed a single key off of the table, and headed out the door.

When she reached Bobby's apartment she went inside, only to find that another woman was there. A young mother with her small child.

"Uh, hi?" Alex said.

"Oh, you frightened me! How are you?" she asked.

"Uh, just fine. And yourself?"

"Oh, right as rain," she said with a smile.

"Pardon me for asking, but, who are you?" Alex asked suspiciously.

"Oh- how silly of me, I'm Marta, apartment 12A, just next door. Bobby has me check up on the place when he goes away. You're Alex, right?"

"Yes- uh, how do you know me?" Whoever this Marta was, she was an extremely giggly person.

"Oh," she giggled. "Bobby showed me your picture. I must say, it doesn't do you justice, you're much prettier in person."

"I didn't know he had my picture," Alex said, stepping fully into the apartment and closing the door behind her.

Marta smiled. "He likes you very much- won't shut up about you, in fact."

"How very nice." Alex was just a little nervous. "So, uh, do you know where he is?"

"Oh- haven't a clue. Every few years he just takes off for a few weeks, asks me to look in on the apartment (I usually end up cleaning it too; he leaves it in such a mess!)- so, here I am, just picking up, bringing the mail in." She smiled.

"Oh, I was just here to… pick up some magazines. I won't bother you any further," she said, nervously motioning towards the pile on the kitchen counter. In truth, she too had come to clean, but was weary of the Marta woman and didn't want her getting any ideas about her and Bobby.

"Oh- ok! I think there are some more in his bedroom closet- that's where he usually keeps them," she said, pointing down the hallway.

"Oh, ok…" Alex walked down the hallway and into Bobby's bedroom. She saw the closet, and went to it. She didn't see any magazines at first, so she took a little closer look, parting the rack of suits to see if there was anything behind them.

Nothing. Just a white wall. Except, there was a little seam in the paint. She pushed at it and a part of the wall gave. She pushed some more and soon, and entire panel fell into a hole. She peered inside the hole in the wall and saw in the dim light that there was stuff in there. She quickly pulled her head back out, replaced the panel, and stuffed the suits back on the rack to cover it up. She then looked on the top shelf and saw a magazine.

She grabbed it and left the bedroom.

"Find 'em?" Marta asked; her hands submerged in a sink full of bubbly water.

"Uh, just one. Thanks." Alex set the magazine on top of the other pile, grabbed the pile, and headed for the door.

The instant she was back in the SUV she pulled out her cell phone and called Bobby. It went straight to voicemail. "Hi, Bobby, it's me. I was just in your apartment getting some magazines and there was this woman there. Said her name was Marta and that you had asked her to look after your apartment. I'll assume you know her, but I'll check in every day just to make sure all your stuff is still there unless you finally decided to CALL ME BACK and tell me otherwise. Uh… talk to you later… Alex."


	7. Chapter 7

Yay! I got an audition slot at Colburn in a month! Unfortuantely this means thatI will be practicing like mad and may not be able to update with any kind of regularity, butI will do my best...

Chapter 7

Bobby carefully climbed up the fire escape ladder, followed closely by Julia. Once they were on the grated landing he examined the window. It was a simple square frame and plate of glass, and there was a latch on the side that flipped sideways to keep the window closed. Noting that entry would be easy, he looked closely for any kind of security device.

"Latch'll be easy. Now, is there an alarm..." he mumbled. Julia watched closely from his right side. Deciding that there was no alert system connected to the window, he quickly pulled out his pocket knife, slid it between the window frame and the side, and carefully slid it up to push up the latch that held the window closed.

He slowly pushed it open. No noise yet. He stuck his head inside and looked around. Nothing. "Must not be a room they're using." He quietly climbed through the window, which wasn't that easy to do because his frame was so large and tall. He stumbled a bit and almost fell in headfirst before Julia managed to catch him by the belt of his pants.

Once they were both inside Bobby closed the dirty window on the setting sun behind them. The room was bathed in an orange light. They quietly crept across the room, and this time it was Julia who poked her head out of the door and into the hallway while Bobby drew his gun.

"All clear," she whispered back to him before she entered the hallway.

"Lets go downstairs first. Don't want to get cornered." They walked down the hallway and took a good look down the stairwell before descending. In the hallway below, they definitely saw people. There was movement going in and out of what looked to be a den or living room. There was no door, only an entryway.

"We need a distraction," Julia said. "We need to lure them out of the building."

"Why?" he whispered back.

"What else are we going to do?" she asked.

Bobby shrugged. "Just go in there..."

"And kill everybody in sight? They'd be on to us in a heartbeat! I'll sneak back out and create a diversion," she said, turning to go back up the stairs. But Bobby grabbed her arm.

"No, you could get caught."

"I'll handle it," she said, releasing herself from his grip and noiselessly taking the stairs 2 at a time. She almost seemed to float up them. Bobby sat perfectly still, crouched beneath the stairs.

Julia crept back into the room, out the window- leaving it open- and down the fire escape stairs. She quickly ran across the street and knocked on the door of the house adjacent to the brownstone. A man in a suit answered it. "Now," she said, holding out her hands.

The man disappeared momentarily before returning with some kind of kit with wires and a digital clock. He handed it to her and she quickly ran back across the street and ducked under the Saab parked on the curb.

"You can't blow Toulenc's car- she'll murder you!" he shouted.

"I'll pay her back, Gerry!" she shouted back before disappearing completely underneath the car. She reappeared and ran back across the street, and up the fire escape (she had so cleverly mentioned to Robert that in her surveillance of the house she noticed the window and the room that never got used). Just as she lifted her last leg over the railing and on to the landing there was a giant explosion and Marjorie Toulenc's Saab went up in flames.

Julia smiled and ducked back inside the building. "Always wanted to get that bitch," she mumbled as she ran back down the stairs to where Bobby was hiding under them.

He immediately saw about half a dozen people run out of the den room, down the hallway, and out the front door to see what the explosion had been. There was no mistake about it- it was an explosion.

"Now!" she said, grabbing Bobby by the arm and pulling him into the hallway. They rounded the corner, Bobby with his gun drawn, and found... the unguarded Margo Sapphire.

It was beautiful. Everybody says they love diamonds- diamonds refract the best- they're the densest- whatever... There's nothing like the pure deep blue of a Sapphire. And one of this size and perfection was not only a rarity; it was a freak of nature... but enough babbling about the rock.

Bobby kept a lookout while Julia went to look at the stone and see how to get it. While his head was turned she quickly entered the alarm passkey, disabled the motion-sensor, and removed the Sapphire. By the time Bobby had turned back to see her progress she had it in hand.

"How did you-" he stuttered.

"Dumb-asses forgot to set the alarm," she said.

Bobby quickly checked the hall again and they bounded off down it again, and were headed up the stairs when Julia tripped and screamed with pain. "Ah! My ankle!" she cried. The Sapphire lay 2 steps below her from where she had dropped

"Shh!" Bobby said, running back down to pick her up and carry her. As soon as he reached her however, a short stubby man rounded the corner into the stair well with his gun drawn. Bobby quickly pulled the trigger and fired the gun into the man's chest. Bobby then quickly reached down, picked up Julia and carried her up the stairs, leaving the Sapphire behind.

He slung her over his shoulder as he descended the fire escape stairs, ran a block with her to the car and practically flung her into the passenger's seat before running to the other side of the car, jumping in, and speeding off...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Bobby carefully wrapped the bandage around Julia's left ankle, which was quite swollen. She winced as he pulled the bandage tight and pinned it in place.

"Thanks," she said, breathing deeply. "I don't know what I was doing. I should have been watching my step." She shook her head in frustrated apology. Bobby stood up off the side of the cheap hotel mattress and Julia bounced up as the mattress rebounded from under the weight.

"It's OK," he said.

"No, it's not OK," she said apologetically, still shaking her head. "You had to carry me instead of the sapphire; They know it's us now; we'll never be able to get the Sapphire undetected now- Marjorie will have it cut any day now! We're so screwed!"

"Shh, relax," he said, kneeling down in front of her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's OK. I've handled situations much tougher than this one. I can still do it- _we_ can still do it. And besides- it wasn't a total bust... You sent Marjorie's car up in flames; something I'd gladly do any day."

At this she smiled. "I wish you could have seen it. It was awesome."

"How did you do it, anyway?" he asked curiously.

She blushed a little and nodded her head to the left in embarrassment. "Don't be mad at me, but... I had called my captain earlier and he had backup waiting for me... just in case..."

Bobby looked down for a minute, thinking about the consequences of the authorities knowing... "You have a tear in your dress," he said, reaching down to touch the torn hem of her skirt.

"Stupid thing," she muttered bitterly, examining it with her fingers. "They're cheap, but they're dead comfortable," she added in a much lighter tone. Her hand brushed Bobby's as she pulled it away from the tear. A spark of electricity shot between them.

Bobby looked up at her. Her chocolate hair was a mess and she had dirt all over her face and dress. She looked wild. Had he really only known her for a day? It felt like a week at least. And Bobby's not usually the fast type, but...

He suddenly leaned up and kissed her. She immediately began to kiss him back and within a minute they were rolling around on the bed...

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Julia sat up, her bare chest covered by the top sheet of the bed. "Robert," she said softly, nudging the man beside her. "I need to go to my room and get some fresh clothes..."

The pillow his cheek was pressed against muffled his mumble.

She quietly got out of the bed, wrapped herself in a towel, gabbed the yellow dress off the floor, and disappeared into the hallway.

She limped 2 rooms down the hallway, grabbed a fresh (blue) dress from her room, and wet back to Bobby's room to shower. She got out and heard the hotel TV on. The language was Arab, but that didn't seem to faze him.

She was buttoning up the front of her dress when she said, "Tell me about life in New York. I've never been."

"It's really big and really busy."

"That's all?" she asked teasingly. "I bet it's fascinating." She braided her wet hair.

"I suppose. I don't really get a chance to experience it beyond work." He sounded bored.

"Do you work alone?" she asked.

"No, I have a partner."

"Oooh- tell me about him. Is he as cute as you?" She asked, poking her head around the wall to smile at him.

Bobby grinned. "It's a her."

"Oh. Is she pretty?"

"I guess; I never really paid close attention."

"Tell me about her," she said, going back into the main room to sit on the edge of the bed and wiggle Bobby's toes through the sheet.

"She's short- about 5'4, I think. She's got medium blonde hair, an attitude that's apparently genetic- she's a total smart-ass," he said smiling. "She's always making ridiculous off the cuff remarks, being bitchy to suspects, and generally ballsy."

"And you're just the quiet one?" she teased.

"I didn't use to be, but Eames has her way." Julia saw the look in his eyes and knew he was thinking about his partner. He suddenly snapped back. "Why the interest?"

"I'm just curious to know all about your exciting life," she said, snuggling up next to him.

He laughed openly. "Hardly. Tell me about you. Do _yo_u have a partner who's as sexy as you are?"

"No," she said almost wistfully. "He's a looker, but he's already got a girl. Doesn't really think much of our partnership actually. Just goes about his business. I usually follow his tracks. But he's dumb as a rock. Half the time it's me doing all the digging around."

"Same with Eames- she does all the digging."

"If she does all the research, then how come you're the one doing all the chasing? The Margo Sapphire, things of that nature?"

"I'm not sure," he said smiling. "Gary just found me. I used to do this all the time, but it's been ages. I haven't done this since before Eames and I were paired up..."

"Who's Gary? Johnny was a little vague on the details..."

"The Director of the Smithsonian."

"Oh..." She stopped asking questions and snuggled in under Bobby's arm as they watched the TV.

Bobby thought about Alex back in New York. He wondered if she was reading the magazines or not. He thought about her knowing about what her does. And he thought about Julia knowing too- how many more people would he blab to? And how many would be one too many?

He would call Gary and Alex in the morning. Gary would already know what had happen, but Alex... well, he just wasn't sure what she would say... And what he had said about her. He had never really thought about her in that way before. She was always his rock, never someone to be examined for looks or character. He didn't know what he thought of... what he thought. But the more he though about her, the more he missed her- and he was only 2 days out...

Looking at Julia lying beside him, he quickly drove all of those thoughts out of his mind for the time being. He would have time to examine his life back in New York once he was back in New York- right now; he was back in action...


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry my villains are so over-the-top stereotypically evil- that's just the nature of the story... CI Fanfiction gets so deep and emotionally angstyall the time; I thought it was finally time for a lighthearted romp...and it'sextremely fun to write- totally over the top...totally awesome..."You won't escape this time Mr. Bond! Bwahaha!"...

Chapter 9

After a few minutes of TV with Bobby, Julia got up and said, "I need to go get the bandage for my ankle from my room. I left it in there."

"I'll go," he said, motioning to get up.

"No, it's ok; I can get it. I'll be right back." She climbed off the bed and limped down the hallway to her room.

When she got in she pulled a cell phone out of her bag, and started dialing.

"Yes?" a voice answered.

"It's me, Julia."

"You blew up Toulenc's car, she's ready to murder you."

"Well, tell her she can have Goren instead. I got some information out of him. Go get Gary at the Smithsonian and he'll tell you where to find his partner. You want to grab her. She's the only person he'd risk his mission for- well, except maybe me too..." she finished with a grin.

"Don't flatter yourself. Get Gary, then get the girl. What's her name?"

"I only know her last name: Eames. She works at Major Case, which is where Goren's been hiding for the past 5 years. Let me talk to Simon."

"He's not here."

"Don't lie to me, just give him the phone," she snapped.

She heard the phone being shuffled and then a voice came on. "Yes?"

"Hey, Simon baby," she said flirtatiously.

"Don't give me that crap. You blew up Marjorie's car. She's furious with you. I should let her kill you."

"Don't say that, baby. Wait till Mark tells you what I found out. We're going to get Goren and we're going to get him good and you can even let Marjorie do the honors."

"You'd better be right. That little stunt of yours didn't get us any closer to catching him."

"Like I hurt my ankle for no good reason? Juan could have had him if he'd had his gun drawn in time. And besides, Goren is with me now if you're that impatient."

"Couldn't keep your legs closed, could you, you slut..."

"Oh please, like your precious Marjorie hasn't slept with every guy you've ever worked with... I'm the only one who loves you, baby."

She heard the phone click and knew he had hung up on her. She flipped her cell phone shut, flung it across the room, grabbed her bandage off the floor, and limped back down the hallway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Marjorie carefully searched through Gary's desk (Gary was tied up in the corner with 2 guns pointed at him). "Tell us where she is, or we'll kill you," she said venomously.

Gary shot a look of loathing at her through his gag. "We'll find her anyway," she said nonchalantly, perusing through his desk.

She opened a drawer and found a cell phone. On the back was a tag that read "NYPD 3657 0995." "What have we here?" she asked, flipping open the phone. She turned it on and after displaying the name Robert Goren, it beeped, indicating that it had a message waiting.

She wordlessly played the voicemail. "Hi, Bobby. It's Alex. I read through the magazines like you said. I found where Valdez was mentioned a few times- is he connected to a brownstone in Cairo? I'm very confused, but doing all I can to sort it out. Gimme a call back when you get a chance... uh, bye."

Both Marjorie and Gary were breathless with fury. Marjorie with fury that her actions weren't as secret as she hoped, and Gary with fury that Bobby had told the one person he wasn't supposed to. It was all over now...

"Hi, Bobby, it's me. I was just in your apartment getting some magazines and there was this woman there. Said her name was Marta and that you had asked her to look after your apartment. I'll assume you know her, but I'll check in every day just to make sure all your stuff is still there unless you finally decided to CALL ME BACK and tell me otherwise. Uh… talk to you later… Alex."

Marjorie flipped the phone shut with a satisfied smug on her face and turned to one of the henchman holding a gun at Gary. "Go get her," she said.

The man immediately left while pulling out a cell phone and Marjorie turned back to Gary. "You should have gotten someone else to do it for you, _Gaz._ Goren's done this one too many times- he's finished, and I'm going to get him... he stole my rock last time- he won't get it again...Julia will see to that..."

She laughed and left the room, working her way through the path of destruction she had created on her way in...


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I had it all planned out- i was going to come home early from school (i didn't have any classes anyway), practice, and write a new chapter. But i got delayed in a rehearsal and when i get home with my brother, my front door is wide open. Some rat-bastards had thrown a rock through our dining room window and helped themselves to my house... they took my Dad's Basses (but left mine), some cameras (the day after i had finished taping and sent off a college audition tape- what timing!), some speakers, my DVD player, and all of my DVDs... but not my Criminal Intent DVDs- how lucky is that! They actually had to move them to get to the DVD player to steal, so the cops dusted my Law & Order: CI DVDs for prints- i have pictures! The only ones they found were mine, though... go figure... and they stole my ghetto/'88/3-inches-thick laptop and the bag it was in- that was all of my Fanfiction stuff! If they ever figure out how to boot the wretched thing all they're going to find is an over-slow computer and a bunch of "Bobby kissed Alex fiercely..." HAHA... anywho, of all the shit they stole, what really pisses me off is that they stole my $12 hairdryer... i HATE going to bed with wet hair! Anywho- here's a short chapter, hopefully i'll have some more written by later tonight... Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"They're going to move it," Bobby said to Julia as they carefully watched the brownstone they had just escaped from the day before.

"Are you sure they won't come after you? Marjorie already hates you with a passion, and now that you've blown up her car-"

"Correction: _you_ blew up her car. But I see your point-" Just then, his cell phone rang.

"Goren," he answered reflexively.

"Hello Bobby," a familiar voice said.

"Marjorie, how-"

"Never mind that. The important thing is that I have something of yours... well, I'm sure she doesn't like to be referred to as property, but you see my point." Marjorie trailed off in a chuckle.

"Who is it," he demanded.

"Easy, Bobby. You're going to have to be nice to me- you did blow up my car and try to steal my Sapphire. If you want me to tell you you have to be nice."

"I didn't blow up-" he stopped short. "Tell me," he demanded once more.

"You partner may have the good looks, but mine has the power."

Bobby didn't know whether she was talking about Eames or Julia at first, but then.. how could she know about either of them?

"Let me speak to her." he said.

"If you insist," Marjorie said almost wistfully.

There was the sound of the phone being shuffled and then Bobby heard Alex's voice, "Bobby Goren, so help me God if you don't tell me what's going on right now- I'm going to-"

"Eames- shut up, where are you?"

"There's a big stone-" just then the phone clicked and there was silence.

Bobby's lower lip trembled with fury. "Fuck!" he shouted before he threw the phone across the room. He then calmed down. "I've got to go."

And within 2 minutes all of his stuff was thrown into the duffle bags and he was headed out the door with Julia trailing behind him.

"Bobby, wait-"

"No, you're not coming. Stay here and watch the building, call me if you see any movement."

"Let me come," she said, pulling on his arm.

"No!" he shouted more forcefully than he had intended.

Just then he felt a hand fly across his cheek. "You will not yell at me!" She said with heat.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his cheek. "But you can't come, they might get you too..."

"Get who?"

His eyes went out of focus for a split second then returned. "No one. Call me if you find out anything." And with that he turned and walked away.

Bobby remained silent except to hail a taxi to the airport. He knew exactly where she was- that didn't concern him. What worried him was how they found her- and how they found _him_...

He really was beginning to feel like he had lost his grip- had let too many things slide. He- he stopped his train of thought short. They had gotten Gary- that much he was certain. That wasn't altogether unexpected- but how had they found Alex... he fumbled through his pockets as he got out of the taxi at the airport for money, pulling out his cell phone to get at the cash in the bottom of his pocket. He flipped through the bills, paid the taxi, and then looked at his cell phone screen to check the time.

Then he realized he didn't have his city phone. It must have been with Gary-ooh... She can't have been dumb enough to leave detailed messages... he had told her to call him; she called him; they had his cell phone; and now they had her...

Despite the growing list of Problems, Bobby had a plan, and he was ready to put it into action... _assuming that no one's going to rat me out this time._

"Wait!" he shouted in line at the ticket counter at the airport. "Julia, that fucking bi-" but he stopped short again. There were little kids everywhere.

He finished his cursing mentally, bought an airline ticket to Mexico City, and then began to think aloud. "Ok, so Julia's in on it. They know that I'm coming. Gonna make it even more difficult. They won't hurt Eames; they haven't done it in the past... she's just bait... what are they really after? Stupid question Bobby... ok, assuming that the rock is there..."

He continued his incoherent babble all the way on to the plane. He sat down. He was totally exhausted, but totally wound tight at the same time. He didn't know what to do now. He was fidgety... he pulled his notebook out of his bag and opened it. Inside, along with all of his papers was a picture of him and Alex taken with a Polaroid at a bar... Alex was smiling the brightest he had ever seen. She looked incredibly happy... she also looked like the bird that had eaten the canary... there were bunny ears sticking out from behind his head.

Suddenly his chest tightened and he began to wheeze. It was going to take way too long to get to her... he wanted to be there now! After what Julia had done to him he felt like a jackass... and he felt like he owed Alex a big apology- and not just for dragging her into this mess. He felt like apologizing to her for something she didn't even know had happened...

* * *

Please R & R! I'm an addict! 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Alex sat in the chair, struggling against the ropes intermittently. There was really no use in struggling, but her inner bitch refused to be restrained. "This is so cliché," she said in an annoyed tone, looking around at the way she was tied up.

"Call me old fashioned. I watched way too much Indiana Jones as a girl," replied Marjorie.

"Didn't you ever notice that he won and the Nazi's lost," she spat.

"Yes, but that really wasn't what I was paying attention to. Look me straight in the eyes, Detective, and tell me you would jump him if you had the chance."

"Jump who?" Alex asked, not knowing whether she meant Harrison Ford or Bobby Goren.

"Indy of course," Marjorie sang.

"Oh- nah, he was alright," Alex said, fumbling her fingers through the ropes that were tied behind her back. "I've seen better." She had to keep talking to keep Marjorie distracted.

"Like who? You're partner? An infamously smart man who's jetting halfway around the world just to save you? He's still just a guy, you know. Couldn't keep his hands off that slut Simon sent to work with him. At least Indiana has integrity."

A pang of jealousy shot through Alex's chest. "That's not true- he slept with that German chick. And she was as bad as they come," she said, trying not to dwell on what she had just heard.

"That's true, but at least he kept the really important information safe. Even when she had the diary he still had the information. But your Bobby- he told her everything... and we almost got him..."

"Almost?"

"Yah- he had to go back to," she threw the back of her hand against her forehead in a dramatic way, "rescue poor Julia. But then he managed to get away. He always had good legs..."

A sense of pride shot through Alex until she realized... "How do you know about his legs?"

Marjorie laughed. "You're not jealous, are you? Like I said: Bobby is a guy underneath it all. All men are the same. You really think Simon runs this operation? I do. I'm sure you bear more than your fair share of work between the two of you. All guys can think about is getting some and then making the women do all the work."

Alex was getting furious. "That's not true! Bobby does plenty of work! And he treats me like an equal!"

"Does he really?" Marjorie asked seductively, leaning in close to Alex. "Last time he was here, he had another chick with him. But he just stood there while your Bobby did it all. While _your_ Bobby caught and killed most of Simon's men. While _your_ Bobby questioned us. He's a loner, Detective, and always will be. But even loners need a little action. And I'll tell you one more thing: He doesn't learn from his mistakes. We did the exact same thing with me- who'd'ave thought that a dingbat like Julia would have been able to pull it off a second time? Haven't _you_ managed to seduce him yet?"

Alex spat in Marjorie's face. She got a swift slap across the face followed by a sinister laugh.

"Have I hurt your feelings? Your wonderful Bobby is really a good guy? I've got news for you: no guy is good. And that's why I'm going to get away with it this time. He's got an even bigger weakness than before: you." And with that she walked out of the room, leaving Alex to dwell in what she had just heard.

She was more hurt than she could have imagined. The thought of Bobby just running around with no self control, letting himself give in desire without logic. It was ridiculous. And he had done it again- just when Alex thought he might actually love her. Well, she knew that she loved him. She had for some time now, but she had only ever showed it when it seemed like he might show it back, which was rare, but happening more frequently. She was hurt that everything she thought she saw in him wasn't true. He really was a guy underneath it all.

And... he really was a loner too. He did interrogations mostly by himself, though she could have sworn he was getting better at that too... but hearing this made her think that he was that way all the time, it was all just an illusion. She was willing to believe that he included her because she thought he cared about her, but that was all a lie... and if he just slept around with anyone, she didn't want him anyway...

That was it- she just had to keep telling herself that if he was going to always be like that she didn't want him. But Marjorie was counting on him wanting to save her... now Alex didn't know what to think. Marjorie had said all these things to make Alex believe that Bobby didn't want her, yet she was placing an awful lot of trust that he would. She had set a trap for him and was using Alex as bait.

Examining other people's problems and motives had always seemed so easy. But it wasn't at all easy now that she was trying to examine her own and had personal biases to deal with...

"This sucks," she said aloud. But almost as soon as she had said it her fingers (which had been working since she had started talking with Marjorie) found the tie in the rope and undid it. She was free!

Well, sorta...

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby almost jumped off the airplane when it landed and began to run through the terminal. He knew exactly where he was going: A small island off of the west coast of (somewhere in Mexico), where he had just landed. The minute Alex had mentioned a "big stone" he knew where she was.

On this small island was old ruins- they had to be at least 500 years old. They seemed to be fashioned in the form of the local natives of the time (almost Mayan-esque), but there was something unique about them: they were logical.

Not logical in the sense of their structure, but logical in their mythology. The jungle and beach around them didn't lend the people who lived there to build on a foundation of superstition and religion, but that of logic. Where the pyramids were filled with curses, these were filled with logic puzzles. If it weren't the hideout of a large organized crime group, it would have been Bobby's hideout.

Bobby had spent many a week here before. He had discovered it on his first ever mission for Gary and the Smithsonian. He was chasing a man called Neal, Valdez's predecessor. Neal had the brains (which Bobby respected tremendously), but Valdez had the means- and when Neal was killed while Bobby was attempting to recover (something) Valdez had taken over.

Bobby stepped into a Cab and made it race to a small cove with a ferry service. Bobby greeted the old man by name and asked for the usual: he would leave his bags at the boat house and needed to be taken to the small island, he would find his way back on his own as he usually did.

The Mexican sun was bright on the back of Bobby's neck and a warm breeze was blowing, which didn't help with the scorching heat. Bobby rolled up his long sleeves and unbuttoned his shirt. The water all around him now was a deep blue, and cool to the touch as Bobby let his fingers trail in it as the little boat chugged along.

He was almost on vacation. A small daydream pass through his brain about him and Alex sitting in the sand and watching the water lap up on the shore. They weren't talking, they weren't doing anything- they were just sitting there in the calm air. Just the two of them.

But this thought quickly vanished from his mind as the little boat approached the small tree-covered island. The same cool water lapped up on shore, the same trees shaded the white sandy beach, but the same calm didn't dwell there.

There was danger, there was difficulty, and somewhere in there... there was Eames...


	12. Chapter 12

Oops- I forgot to label "(somewhere in Mexico)"- it's just off the coast of Mazatlan... I get so wrapped up in it that I over look things like that... I probably should get a beta, but I really don't have the patience for it...

Chapter 12

The little boat puttered up to the edge of the island. Bobby stepped off, thanked the ferry-man, and headed into the jungle.

It took him only 5 minutes to find the trail. It was obvious that it was in heavy use- Valdez never did have the sense of respect that Neal did.

Bobby followed the trail from a distance in case anyone else was on it. After 45 minutes of trudging through the swampy jungle Bobby was tired and sweaty. His already curly hair was now a frizzy mess.

((A/N: he looked good...))

He finally approached the ancient ruins. The actual lair was underground, but you had to get in first.

Embedded in the ancient stone was a small computer screen. Bobby touched it. "Authorization Code," it read, and then provided a touch-keypad to type in the code. In the bottom right-hand corner was a little icon that read "Forgot your password?"

"God bless you, Neal," Bobby said aloud, pressing the icon on the screen. To his right a stone shifted beneath the fallen leaves. It opened to a small chamber that held 25 stones and a small piece of paper.

On the paper it read: _"The Pyramid of the Earth has fallen. When the earth falls, so does this island, so do the animals, and so does life. The Pyramid of the Earth has fallen."_

He set the paper down and began to examine the stones.

Each stone had a word in Spanish on it: snake, river, "stealth", trees, water, tornado, scorpion, trout, beach, fire, wind, "trap", marigold, steam, air, rock from the sky, palm, "force", cougar, volcano, ruins, earth, spiders, and "poison." The 25th stone was a drawing of the earth.

"The Pyramid of the Earth has fallen," he read again. "They must form a pyramid. But... it would take either 14 or 30 stones to make a full pyramid... this can't be right..."

He continued reading. "When the earth falls, so does the island, so do the animals, and so does life." He looked at the stones again. "4 different groups, 4 levels."

He began to sift through the stones to sort them...

"Earth," he said. He found the stone with the drawing of the earth and set it aside. "The animals." he pulled out the Snake, Spider, Cougar, and Scorpion stones. "Life." He pulled out the Fire, Air, Water, and Earth stones. That still left 16 stones.

"They all form one pyramid," he said. "They must all be connected." Then he understood.

He pulled out the Trees, Wind, Volcano, Tornado, Steam, Falling Rock, Beach, and River stones and added them to the pile with the stones of the 4 elements. He then pulled out the "Trap", "Force", "Poison", and "Stealth" stones and added them to the pile with the 4 animal stones. That left the Palm, Marigold, Ruins, and Trout stones for the island.

"They're all connected," he repeated. Fire was connected with water through Volcano and Steam. Water was connected to Earth through Beach and River. Earth was connected to Air through Tornado and Falling Rock. And Air was connected to Fire with Trees and Wind. That formed a 4x4 square with the 4 center stones missing.

He then looked at the animals pile. Snakes and Spiders "Trapped" their prey. Spiders and Scorpions "Poisoned" their prey. Scorpions and Cougars both possessed "Stealth." And Cougars and Snakes both used "Force". That formed at a 3x3 square with the center stone missing.

The Island pile. That was really quite simple. The order didn't matter he decided. The island was unique to the earth; therefore, they were all connected within the unique entity of the island.

And then there was the earth.

Bobby reconstructed the pyramid with the 4x4 "Life" on the bottom, the 3x3 "Animals" on top of that, the 2x2 "Island on top of that. And Finally, the Earth.

Bobby clicked the last stone into place and the door behind him (next to the screen) opened, revealing a dark descending stair-case.

Bobby drew his gun and headed down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom he was just about to open the door when it flew open. In the threshold stood a panting Alex Eames.


	13. Chapter 13

Agh! I'm so busy preparing my audition! I was only at school for a grand total of 2 hours today! (God bless CSAPs!) Mmm, lots of concerts this weekend- i got my first Pops concert. The Colorado Symphony plays Led Zepplin! I thought i would die of culture shock (and embarrasment- my bass teacher is officially a lunatic)! But it was really fun!

I present to you- Fluff!

Chapter 13

"Bobby!"Alex screamed, but he immediately put his hand over her mouth and said, "Shh, come on!"

He grabbed her hand and they bolted up the stone steps, taking them 2 at a time.

"Marjorie just found out," she panted. "It took me forever to find a way out."

"How did you escape? He asked. They ran out of the door and into the jungle in the opposite direction from which Bobby had come.

"Girl talk," she said, wiping the hair out of her face as they jogged through the jungle. "Where are we going?"

"To the boats. This is how you came in?" He quickly whapped some tree branches out of their way.

"I don't know. I was blindfolded until I got downstairs."

"Marjorie has always been old fashioned," he said. "Ah, here we are." They exited the brush and found themselves on a sandy beach where 2 boats were tied to a small dock.

They ran up to one of the boats, jumped in it, and sped off.

No sooner had they gotten about 100 yards away than 2 men came running out onto the beach, jumped into the remaining boat, and chased after them.

Bobby and Alex zoomed along the edge of the mainland with the 2 men hot on their trail "Go faster, Bobby!" Alex shouted. "I didn't come this far just to get caught again!"

"I'm working on it!" he shouted back. "Here." He pulled his gun out of his back pocket. "Shoot," he commanded.

Alex took the gun and began to fire at the boat behind them. Bobby took a quick turn, the men behind them followed in suit, and Alex was able to get a clear shot at the engine.

Smoke began billowing out and the boat slowed and faded in the distance as Bobby sped around a bend and into an empty cove…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby and Alex both collapsed on their backs in the sand beneath a palm tree on the deserted beach. They were both exhausted. Bobby especially.

Almost immediately though, he realized that he had Alex and they were both temporarily safe. He rolled on top of her and grabbed her in a hug.

She immediately pushed him off of her. "Oh, no you don't, you pig," she spat, sitting up and pushing him away.

"Eames- I'm just glad your safe- it wasn't anything like-"

"Safe! This is all your fault I'm caught up in this mess! You can't just abandon me, get me kidnapped, and then just be glad I'm safe! Explain yourself! And make it good." She was panting again from the screaming.

"Eames- I've told too many people- I can't-"

"Here I am! You've dragged me into this mess! I want to know what's going on! Everyone else seems to know but me! Me! Your partner of 5 years! And you won't tell me!" Tears began to well in her eyes and he voice had become shaky. "You just left me! For a couple of sluts and a rock… And still you won't tell me…" She was on the verge of a total meltdown. Bobby could see the sun setting behind her, bathing them both in a smooth, orange glow.

"Alex… I'm sorry. Don't… you deserve to know. You're right." He moved closer to her and sat directly in front of her. She sniffed and wiped the water from her eyes. "When I was in the Army- I was 2 years in. I had just gotten back from Germany. I got called in for my next assignment. Only, it wasn't what I was expecting. I was introduced to a many named Gary Kittredge, the director of the Smithsonian- but I'm sure you know that by now.

"He told me all about the underworld of the Institution. Particularly, the criminal underworld that surrounded the millions upon millions of dollars of artifacts at the museums. I had been chosen as part of this 'team' of individuals who were charged with the protection, and in my case, recovery of any stolen property form the museum. I had been chosen not only because of my work in the Army CIU, but also because I read the magazines, which were communiqués of the underworld of the Institution. I knew more than I could possibly imagine. He then gave me the assignment of recovering some South American artifacts that had been stolen. He briefed me and sent me on my way.

"At the time, a man called Bernard Neal was the big crime boss of the time. His right-hand man was Simon Valdez. Neal was really smart. He's the one who first discovered and utilized the ruins on that island. He was killed during my assignment and that's when Valdez took over. Shortly after that he brought in Marjorie Toulenc, his mistress. As you can probably tell, she's pretty much taken over at this point. During my second assignment is when I came across her. Valdez had stolen some ancient Egyptian jewelry and was attempting to reenact some mummy's curse. When Marjorie figured out that Valdez had gone off the deep end and had no intention of giving her any of the spoils, she used me to get the jewelry from Valdez so she could in turn take it from me without Valdez knowing."

"She said you slept with her," Alex said.

Bobby sighed. "Yes- but like I said. She was using me. Once I figured it out I was able to recover the artifacts and give her and Valdez the slip. That was the last time I was called in. I thought they had given up on me because I fucked up so bad. That's when I joined the PD. I was bumped up to Major Case so quickly because of my previous involvement in major crimes. Then, I got that call from Gary a few days ago… and, here we are…"

"Marjorie mentioned a Julia. Tell me who she is."

"Julia was the same kind of trap Marjorie was… She… she reminded me of you in a way…" he mumbled.

"How so?"

Bobby looked up. "She was smart, simple, resourceful… She complimented me, she… she flirted with me." Bobby ducked his eyes at this point. "She just seemed to fit… just like you. I should have known it was too good. She knew too much, hit all the marks. Everything I had known about you after 5 years I knew about her after 5 hours. She took advantage of the fact that I missed you…"

"After only two days they were able to screw you up that bad?" Alex asked, but immediately regretted it. "Sorry, I just meant…"

"Yah- I missed you that much. And she figured it out before I did. She reported to Marjorie, who saw you as a chance to get at me… I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's ok," Alex whispered.

The sun had gone down completely now, and they sat on the beach hardly able to see or hear each other. The cool wind was whipping Alex's hair into her face.

"It should have been you," he said softly.

"I wish it had been," she replied more quietly than before.

A tear streaked down her cheek. Bobby reached out to cup her jaw and she closed her eyes. He gently kissed the tear away, tasting the salt on his lips.

"Marjorie said I was your biggest weakness," Alex said, opening her eyes.

"She was right." And with that he kissed her on the lips this time, savoring the bond between them.


	14. Chapter 14

Now that our two favorite characters are back together the fluff abounds!

Chapter 14

When he pulled away from her, only then did she re-open her eyes. "What did you mean when you said 'girl talk'?"

"Oh," she laughed. "We were talking about Indiana Jones while I undid my rope."

"What did she say?"

"She bitched about you- men in general. She told me about her role in your last assignment- and Julia... she was complaining about how all men are sexist pigs."

"Marjorie has been like that for as long as I've known her. She's got a real chip on her shoulder when it comes to men. I'm sure she would have cut my balls off if given the chance."

At this Alex laughed aloud.

"What did you say? When she told you those things?" he asked delicately.

"I defended you!" she replied, heating up. "She was insulting you; she was analyzing you; trying to rationalize your behavior. She hates you!"

Bobby smiled. "Shh... it's ok. Thank you for defending me."

"I wasn't so sure about it then. She told me all of these things about you and I wasn't sure what to believe. But then... when she said I was your biggest weakness... I knew she was lying about all the other stuff- who you were... even if she didn't know it."

"I knew you were smart," he said, brushing the hair out of her face. "Did she say where the Sapphire was?"

"I saw it! Bobby, it's enormous!" She started to get loud again.

"Shh," he smiled. "So it's already there. Where did you see it?"

"it's in the room she kept me in. There was a vanity. Ohh- and one of those cool rotating book cases."

"I know where that is."

"How?"

"When Neal was in charge- Neal and I would have been great friends if we hadn't been working against each other. It was more of a battle of wits than a crime. Valdez is just a criminal. Neal was an artist... He the one who installed the book-case, left the puzzles behind- ooh, I was quite delighted when I found another puzzle when I was there trying to get you..."

"Bobby."

"Oh, Sorry. That was actually relevant though- I spent a lot of time in there solving puzzles when I was chasing after Neal. That's probably the only way Valdez has been able to use the place. I solved most of the puzzles, enabling them to gain access to some of the rooms Neal had sealed off... long story short- I've been in there before..."

She smiled in amusement. Only Bobby would have enjoyed stuff like that. She could tell by the way his eyes lit up when he talked about it; the way he smiled when he encountered it.

"So you know how to get back in there? To get the... Margot Sapphire?"

"Margo- and yes. It should be pretty easy."

"What do we do now?"

"Well," said Bobby, checking his watch, "We 're going to go back up to the hut at the ferry station, get my bags and gear, and camp out on the beach until morning- or possibly mid-afternoon, depending on how much sleep we need- and then head back over to the island and make a big mess of things."

"Don't' look so happy," she said grinning. "Let's go get your bags."

They got up and headed down the beach. It was totally dark out, but for the stars, the reflection of the half-full moon in the water, and the lights of boats far out at sea. It was as perfect weather as you could ask for. It was dark, but it was warm and humid with a cool breeze. They walked barefoot down the beach, hand in hand, letting their toes get washed over by the waves every few seconds.

Alex felt something hard and ticklish wash over her feet and she jumped and screamed. "What the hell was that?"

Bobby looked down and saw a tiny crab scurrying back towards the water from where the tide had carried it in, presumably over Alex's small feet.

"I think it was just that little crab- oh look." He pointed to the beach ahead of them where hundreds of thousands of little crabs were scuttling back into the ocean.

"Oh God," she screeched and jumped up into Bobby's arms. "Bobby," she whimpered.

"It's ok, they're harmless. And they're so small anyway that they probably wouldn't even break the skin if they decided to hitch a ride."

"You're not helping," she said, looking down at the beach that Bobby was carrying her above.

He laughed. "Are you scared?"

"Bobby," she glared. "Not funny." He laughed again. "How much longer till we reach the hut?"

"Well," he shifted her weight, "about 20 minutes if I have to carry you the whole way there, but only about 10 if you can walk."

She looked at him, then at the water below (a little crab went whizzing by with the tide), then back up at him. "Take me above the tide."

He walked her up to the dry beach, set her down, and then walked back to the water where he had been before.

"You're a true gentleman, Bobby," she said.

He just shrugged. "We live in New York; we rarely get to see the water- except when there's a floater in it; here we are on the beach somewhere in Mexico- I'm not going to let a few tiny crabs ruin my vacation."

She slowly altered her course back towards the sea. "This is hardly a vacation- and I swear, if one of these things bites me, you're a dead man."

He just smiled and held out his hand, which she took.

They rounded a corner and saw a little hut with a lonely light on. When they reached the door, Bobby knocked on it, retrieved his bags from the ferryman, and they headed back down the beach.

"What exactly do you have in that thing?" she asked.

"Crab-proof sleeping bags," he responded simply.

"Riiigghht..."

"No seriously," he said. "You get in them, you zip up, you go to sleep, and in the morning you wake up with absolutely no knowledge of whether a crab has investigated it or not."

"You are full of shit, you know that?"

"Yep. How 'bout here?" he pointed to a flat portion of beach with relatively few crabs on it.

"There are crabs here."

"You see a place with any fewer? If you're really that scared- which I doubt, because you're not even scared of cock-roaches- I'll stay up and protect you from the evil crabs."

She glared at him one more time before kicking a tiny crab out of her way and sitting down on the beach. "I don't need your protection. Gimme that sleeping bag."

He pulled the sack out of the duffle bag and threw it at her.

She unzipped it, laid it flat on the sand, and crawled on top of it. Bobby unzipped his bag as well, crawled up next to Alex, and threw the second bag over them as a blanket. Within 5 minutes they were fast asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Yay! A chance to update- smutty goodness- enjoy!

Chapter 15

It was quite bright and warm when Bobby woke up. He opened his eyes and staring him down was a tiny red crab. It couldn't have been longer than 3 inches across, if that. It flexed its little pincers innocently; it's little eyes looking in two different directions at once.

He sat up, picked up the little crab, and tossed it back towards the ocean. "We can't have you here, little buddy. Eames 'll flip her lid if she sees you." He turned and examined the area surrounding them to check for any remaining crustaceans. Alex was still very much asleep, her hair was a total disaster, and she was drooling ever so slightly.

He nudged her shoulder with two fingers. "Eames... Eames, we need to get moving." She shifted groggily and looked up at Bobby.

"Wha-" She yawned, then smiled as her eyes shifted into focus. "Mmm, your shirt's open."

Bobby blushed. "Come on, we have to get moving."

She yawned again. "Fine, I'm up, I'm up." She sat up and stretched, but stopped short with a wince. "Ah…"

"What's wrong?" Bobby asked.

"I fell on my back and slid across a grated floor while I was 'in transport' the other day. It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Let me have a look," he said, motioning for her to take off her shirt.

"Not a chance. I'm fine- I'll _be_ fine. You wouldn't happen to have some ibuprophin in that Mary Poppins bag of yours, would you."

"I'll give you the pain killers once you let me have a look. You could be injured- and sleeping on the sand didn't help, I'm sure. Let me look."

"Bobby…"

He glared at her, his hands outstretched.

"Ugh… fine." She turned her back to him and removed her shirt. Her back was raw, but the skin wasn't broken, and her muscles were tense.

"Your skin is pretty raw," he murmured, delicately pushing at the corded muscles that ran along her spine.

She winced. "Ow…"

"We should wash this, and I can work out those knots in your muscles."

Without thinking she turned around to motion, "Bobby, no. I'm fine."

He coughed at the sight of her bra-covered chest. She quickly turned back around.

"Come on, I've got some soap- the salt water will sting a bit I'm sure… and you're going to have to take off your bra." He sounded so matter-of-fact. Alex wasn't sure whether to be offended that it sounded routine to him, or relieved that he wasn't a shy little boy about it.

He took her left hand and placed his other hand on her hip and helped her up. His large hands were cold on her fair skin. She shivered.

When they reached the water she stepped into it gladly. It was warmer than the air. She sunk into it slowly, wincing as the salt water stabbed at her raw skin. She self-consciously removed her bra and held in it her hands under the water.

Bobby took the bar of soap from his bag and gently began to motion in circles across her back. At first it hurt, but soon it felt good as it washed the salt water away and massaged her tight muscles.

Her shoulders began to relax. Bobby slipped the soap into his pants pocket and then used his flat palms to work in the rest of the soap to soothe her skin. He was trying to be so careful with her.

In all their excitement yesterday she had forgotten about the pain, and he had not even bothered to ask if she was ok. He felt guilty that he had not asked sooner. He ran his hands together up her spine and brought them over her shoulders to rest on her upper arms.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yes… thank you," she managed before stepping out of his hold and putting her bra back on.

She dropped herself below the surface to rinse off before emerging, this time turning to face Bobby.

_Damn, she's got an excellent bra,_ he thought before quickly snapping himself out of it. "You look much better."

"Thanks… I think…" she said, smirking.

"Sorry, I-"

She smiled openly now. "It's ok- I know what you meant." She stepped closer to him. Her modesty was gone for some reason. Ten minutes ago she had been afraid to show him her bare back, but now she felt so relaxed. She felt like he truly appreciated her and found her beautiful.

She stepped towards him again. Could this really be happening? She was walking towards him in her bra, soaking wet from the ocean- it was like every guy's steamy dream. Like some pose out of a magazine… And yet, it was Eames, not some dumb blonde with big boobs… it was Eames…

He stepped forward and suddenly seized her, kissing her frantically. She returned the frantic kisses, nipping at whatever piece of skin she could find. When their mouths joined it didn't come close to the overwhelming desire to swallow each other up- vanish into a completely different universe.

He bit her neck as he ran his hands up and down her waist and hips, trying desperately to pull her closer. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his hips and he wanted so badly to throw her down on the beach, but when he regained enough focus to carry out the task he also realized she still had a sore back. His mouth released her lower lip.

"We have to get moving…" he said, breathing heavily and looking straight into her eyes with their foreheads pressed together.

She nodded, kissed him one more time, and released her legs so that she splashed back down in the water.

They walked back up the to beach, rolled up the sleeping bags and stuffed them back in the duffle, Alex put on one of Bobby's old T's, and they headed back down the beach to retrieve their boat from last night.

But she didn't want to give up that easily. As they walked she kissed whatever portion of his exposed skin she could find as he walked with his arm over her shoulder. When she sucked on the underside of his upper arm he breathed sharply, dropped the bags, and grabbed her once more…


	16. Chapter 16

Ok, this really _has_ been un-godly long since i last updated- March, i believe...how sad...BUT! Now i have the plot completed and we're mere chapters away from the stirring conclusion! Re-read the whole thing, catch yourselves up, and i promise i'll update soon! Thanks for waiting patiently!

* * *

"You look nice," he said, looking at her and pushing her wet hair out of her face.

"Don't lie to me," she said, looking up at him from her lying position in the sand. "I'm a mess. I'm filthy, and I smell like the ocean."

"I like it," he said, nipping at her shoulder.

She pushed him away with a grin. "Marjorie was right- you're all the same," she teased as she arched her hips into him. "Only got one thing on your mind…" He smiled and went to kiss her again, but she stopped him. "They'll be more time later. We can't lay here on the beach all day, they'll find us."

He agreed and they both got up out of the sand and continued their walk down the beach toward the cove where they had left the boat. When they peeked around the corner, the saw a bunch of men searching the boat and surrounding area.

"Great," Bobby said, quickly grabbing her hand and heading back down the beach. "They found us. Let's go."

They began to run back down the beach. "Where are we going?" Alex asked.

"We need another boat," he said, leading her back down the beach, past their stuff, and back to the ferryman's hut where his boat was tied to the dock.

"Here, come on," he said, helping her into the little fishing boat.

They stepped into the boat and Bobby sped them off back towards the jungle-covered island.

As they raced across the clear blue water, Alex imagined herself only for a split second, not in a hurry and on the run from psycho jewel thieves, but simply on an awesome Mexican vacation. Oddly enough, this daydream didn't involve Bobby. Not because she wasn't happy to be there with him, or didn't want to be, but being in Mexico with Bobby brought complications- such as the henchmen currently gaining on them as they raced towards the island's edge.

They jumped off the boat and raced into the jungle, hand in hand, as the pursuing boat rammed into the beach behind them and they jumped out. Bobby ran them through the jungle, pushing branches aside just in time. He had no idea where they were in relation to the path to the ruins, but he had a feeling that they wanted to stay away from the trodden paths.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave out and Alex let out a scream as she and Bobby fell through a trap door in the underbrush. It closed back over them and their pursuers ran straight past it.

Standing up and regaining the wind that had been knocked out of her, Alex asked, "Where the hell are we?"

Bobby too stood up and looked around. The chamber was completely dark except for the sliver of light coming in through the crack in the trap door above them.

"I don't know," Bobby answered her. "Gimme a minute." He walked around and looked closely at the walls around them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter and used it to illuminate a small patch of wall in front of him

"Where'd you get that?"

"Experience," he answered enigmatically. Alex took to his side and looked at the wall with him.

"Here," she finally said, pushing on a portion of the wall. It gave and a stone door creaked open revealing a long deserted corridor.

"How did you-" he began, but she cut him off with "Experience." After a moment she said, "I found your secret closet," with a grin.

He peeked carefully into the dark corridor, holding up his lighter. He saw a torch on the wall. He picked it up and lit it with his lighter, illuminating the corridor, which now seemed even more endless than before in the dark.

"Here goes," he said, and they stepped into the corridor and walked slowly down it…


	17. Chapter 17

They walked in silence for some time until Alex finally spoke up. "So, how long have you been doing this again?"

"This is my 4th mission in 15 years. The first and the 3rd were with Valdez, and the 2nd was the recovery of the Smithson Crypt."

"Someone stole the Smithson Crypt!" she shouted. Her voice echoed throughout the long corridor.

"Shh- yeah."

"But I would have seen it in the papers or something! That thing is huge! There's no way it could go missing and no one notice! How did someone steal it to begin with! My God!"

"It's not the actual crypt itself," he said, almost annoyed. "It's what inside that they stole."

"They stole some guys ashes?"

"Along with a ring that contained a map…"

"A map to what?"

"Uh, Eames. I really can't discuss it," he said, in a tone that clearly said 'please, just drop it.'

"At least tell me what it has to do with- I don't need specifics," she pleaded.

He sighed and then said, "The Library of Congress- and that's all I'll say," he said, his voice rising in defense.

"So, if Marjorie wasn't your female nemesis then, who was?"

"I'm not sure."

He brushed a spider web out of the way, running his fingers along the dusty stone like a kid walking along a fence.

"And you slept with her!" she suddenly shouted.

"What? No! What would make you think that?"

"You slept with all the other girls you've been involved with along the way! Why should I assume any different?"

"I didn't really spend any time with her. I barely saw her once or twice- I didn't even know who I was dealing with, and we never caught them, I only just managed to recover the ring, and so I didn't even know her name. Whoever she was…she was very good," he finished quietly.

Alex let out a low, slow whistle. "So," she continued sheepishly, stepping over a dead rodent that should couldn't identify, "Those other women…did you love them?"

"Listen to you, you sound like a teenager," he said, laughing.

"It's a tough adjustment from knowing the eccentric Bobby Goren who couldn't keep a girl past one date to knowing Bobby Goren the rather stupid ladies man."

"I suppose it is a big difference," he conceded.

"You certainly fell right back into the routine quick enough," she snarked.

He coughed, but didn't respond.

They walked in silence, Alex following closely behind and peering around his shoulder, but not holding onto him. Her small way of punishing him for being so different from the Bobby Goren she thought she knew. What would happen now when she had fallen in love with Bobby Goren her partner, not Bobby Goren the easily manipulated ladies man?

She shook her head in disbelief, and then collided with something soft. It was her partner. He had stopped when they reached the end of the corridor and Alex in her reverie had not noticed and walked straight into him.

She looked at the door in front of them. I was a rich wood, covered in what was probably hundreds of year's worth of dust and cob webs. It had an old, tarnished brass handle. Bobby reached out, wiped the dust and cobwebs off the handle, turned it and pushed. It creaked open and the sliver of light got wider as the threshold opened. He quickly dropped the torch to the ground and snuffed it, then pulled his gun out of the back pocket of his pants.

Reverting to his years of police work, he quickly opened the door the rest of the way, brandishing his weapon and surveying the room.

Two guys turned and quickly went for their guns, but Bobby shot them both in the chest before they could even get a grip on their guns. Their limp bodies fell to the floor. Alex gasped in horror. "You shot them! You didn't even try to talk to them! You just shot them!"

"It's a little different here, Eames." He finished stepping inside and began to survey the room.

The room was mostly empty. It looked like it didn't get regular use. There were old papers scattered about in disarray on tables and chairs, and there didn't seem to be any way out, either.

"Odd," Alex remarked, looking about for a door. "How the hell do we get out of here?"

"Eames, when you were in the room with the revolving book case, what was on the other side of the book case?"

"A fireplace. What else? It was classic, Bobby…Oh…" And then she recognized the fireplace opposite them.

"Do you have a gun?" He asked her as they inched towards the fireplace.

She shook her head.

"Grab one of theirs," he said motioning towards the dead bodies lying on the floor. "And if I tell you to shoot, you do it."

She nodded, they stepped onto the stone mantle of the fireplace, Bobby pulled up on the wooden mantle above the fireplace, and the wall began to rotate.

The wall slowly creaked around and the dressing room came into view. Marjorie, who was sitting at her dressing table suddenly turned around as the wall clicked into place.

She was completely alone, half dressed in a silk bathrobe, and her long, thick dirty-blonde hair was draping over he shoulders in waves. She had a look of shock and fear on her face, but she soon replaced it with an evil smile.

"Bobby. It's been so long. I see you've managed to find your partner. And she looks ravaged already," she said, looking Eames up and down. "You really do need to learn to keep in your pants. One of these days I'm going to have to cut it off." She sounded almost innocent.

Both Bobby and Alex had their guns drawn on her. Bobby was inching towards her. Alex's eyes darted to the Sapphire in the stand behind Marjorie.

"There won't be a next time Marjorie. This ends now," he said, the authority in his voice unmistakable.

"Oh, I'm sure of it. You're getting too old to keep chasing me around, and quite frankly I'm getting a little too old to keep living in the jungle just for the sake of a rock-" she turned around and admired the Sapphire. "But it _is_ pretty isn't it?"

"It's gorgeous," Alex said, breaking her silence. He gun was still pointed at Marjorie.

She got up and walked towards the Sapphire. "Stay put, honey," Alex said.

"I'm not going to run, _sweetie_. I was just going to give it to you anyway. Like I said. I'm sick of this. It's so hard to find a good henchman, and I'd rather not be on the run for the rest of my life over anything less worthy than the Hope Diamond…or a map, for instance."

"What map?" Bobby asked, but Alex felt like she already knew the answer.

"Don't be stupid Bobby. You know exactly which one I'm talking about. The secret vault in the Library of Congress… the manuscripts… the artwork…" her voice had lost its innocence and was menacing now.

"So, it was you- the second time," Alex stated, inching closer.

"Yes. It was me."

"Why-" Bobby began, but Marjorie cut him off.

"Was that one so different?" she finished. He nodded. "I _actually_ had some work to get done that time. It was too dangerous. Too… sensitive." She gazed into his eyes intently. Bobby stared back at her, and Alex's head titled to right in thought as she gazed at Marjorie inquisitively.

As a dawning comprehension came over her, her eyes softened. "You-?"

Marjorie nodded in reply without making eye contact, and then turned to face Alex with a resigned look. Her smile had been replaced by a look of defeat. "My dear detective, would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," Alex said angrily, and she pulled the trigger.


	18. Chapter 18

Bobby followed Alex onto the airplane and once everyone was settled in their seats the plane took off and they were soon in the air headed back towards Mexico City, where they would connect for their flights to DC.

It had been a rather awkward past day and a half. They had barely spoken to each other. Bobby was tired from the exhaustion of an adventure he was entirely too old and out of practice for. Alex felt awkward for her role in the entire thing. She had been dragged into it, as it were, totally confused about the entire world she had found herself in. Then there was the completely different matter of Marjorie's death…

"Bobby?" she asked quietly. He had his headphones on and was watching the in-flight movie, which was in Spanish (but that didn't seem to phase him). "Bobby?" she said again, a little louder. Still nothing. She gently pushed on his arm.

"Hmm?" he said, removing his headphones.

"Did Marjorie know you before your first mission?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"Because. What she said about the second mission and _actually_ having a goal to accomplish. It made it seem like all the other ones were for her…entertainment, I guess?"

"They might have been," he said non-chalantly. "Wouldn't put it past her."

"And then…the way you two looked at each other. I could see it in her eyes, Bobby. I could tell she… I could tell. And then it just made sense- that the heists were just an excuse to get to you…If the first was just to get to you, then she must have known you before then."

"I guess." Non-committal.

"That doesn't interest you? That she knew who you were? And she did all this just to get you? (And then) Get back at you?"

"It doesn't matter. She's dead now. It's over. You killed her."

"She asked me to, Bobby!" Alex sounded pleading. "She looked into my soul and told me she'd rather die than be disappointed by you again! What must have gone through her mind, Bobby? All those times?" She paused. "What if that happens to me too?"

That got his attention. "What?" he asked, straightening up and looking at her.

"What if you do something to piss me off? Let me down during a case? Or break my heart? Would I rather kill- or be killed- than not have you the way you were?"

He wrapped his arm around her should and pulled her in an embrace. "Eames- I would never do that to you."

That would have to do for now. She nestled into his arms and sighed, closing her eyes. He held her like that for the rest of the flight. Even when his arms fells asleep, even though he had to use the bathroom, and even though he got a pang of hunger when the food and drink cart passed by- he declined it all and just held her while she slept. He rested his cheek on her forehead and gazed out the window as Mexico City came into view.

* * *

Alex Eames walked confidently into Gary 's office at the Smithsonian, reached into her bag and delicately removed the Margo Sapphire and sat it on his desk in front of him.

He looked up at her in shock. "Who are you? How did you get this?"

She laughed. "I'm Alexandra Eames. I'm Bobby's partner. He's just outside."

He let out a sigh of relief, got up, shook her hand with earnest, and then picked up the Sapphire off his desk. Just then Bobby walked in.

"Goren! Well done."

Bobby didn't look as happy to see him. He shot Gaz a glare and the director turned to Alex and said, "Will you please excuse us for a moment?"

She looked to Bobby and then sauntered out, closing the door behind her.

"What's all this about, Goren?" he asked.

"This," he said, taking the Sapphire from Gary. "My partner got dragged into this mess. I won't let it happen again."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have told her about it," he replied, indignance rising in his chest.

"She figured it out! All on her own! She read the damn magazine, just like everybody else, and she figured it out!" he said, leaning in close, speaking heatedly, but never yelling.

"She's a very smart woman, then."

"Yes! She is! And I will not let this happen to her again. We are going home. I am going back to work, and I want you to find someone else. I'm almost 50 years old- it's time to find someone else."

Gaz looked at him for a moment and then said, "You'll miss it."

Bobby stood up straight and adjusted his suit jacket. "Yes, I will."

Gaz continued to look at him. "You really think you can change for her?" he asked sympathetically.

"I already had."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. "And then you got called in-"

"-And then I got called in."

Gaz smiled and then said, "She _is_ pretty… we're gonna miss you Goren."

"Not as much as you missed that," he said, giving the Sapphire back to Gary. Gary just smiled because he knew it was true. "Same Hotel?" Bobby asked. Gary nodded. "And we leave 5 days." It wasn't a question.

Gary smiled. "Gonna show her the museum?"

Bobby nodded and the two men stared each other down before they both broke down in a smile. "Come here, Bobby," Gary said, before taking him into a hug. "You take care, now."

"I will." Bobby let go and turned to leave, and just as he had his hand on the door handle Gary spoke up again.

"How would you like to be paid _this_ time? You should have a lifetime supply of coffee left over from last time."

Bobby smiled. "I do. Eames has a lot of it too." He paused and thought. "Got any rings you _wouldn't_ mind parting with?"

Gary smiled knowingly. "I think we've got something."

* * *

The End! Thanks for hanging on! I know it was so long before my last few updates. Thanks for all the great reviews! Cheers! 


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